Silence
by Melon Fuhrer
Summary: Ed hasn't gotten the opportunity to talk to Rose alone since their reunion, and the last thing he wants is that crazy witch ruining what might be his only chance to do so. Set during 2003 FMA. Hints of Rose/Ed. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: **All content belongs to Hiromu Arakawa. I make no profit from this in any way, shape, or form.

**A/N:** I wrote this forever and a half ago, but it just finally occurred to me to post it. This is set in FMA1 after Rose has her baby.

* * *

Edward climbs the stairs as quietly as he can, silently willing his automail foot to stop clanking against the wooden steps. He doesn't want Lyra to wake and hear him. Ed hasn't gotten the opportunity to talk to Rose alone since their reunion, and the last thing he wants is that crazy witch ruining what might be his only chance to do so.

He reaches the top of the staircase and knocks softly on Rose's door, hoping she's awake. He knows she isn't going to answer - his blood starts boiling just thinking about the reason for that - but she'll at least get up and answer her door. Right?

After a brief pause the knob clicks and the door swings open, revealing not a set of unnaturally pink bangs but a sharp, dark fringe. Edward takes half a step backwards in surprise, then glares at her. "What the hell, Lyra? Where's Rose?" he shouts angrily.

She gives him a sly smirk. "Lower your voice, Edward, the baby's finally sleeping. Rose is trying to as well; it's not easy being the mother of a newborn child."

"Why are you in here?"

Lyra shakes her head almost mockingly. Edward feels the urge to smack the look off her face with his right hand, but restrains himself, though just barely. "I'm watching out for Rose now, and that means to protect her at night, too. Being her bodyguard isn't just a day job."

"Like hell you're protecting her," he spits through gritted teeth. "Move out of my way. I need to talk to her."

The woman's beady eyes narrow. "I don't think that's a good idea. She's in a very fragile state right now, in case you hadn't noticed."

Ed feels something like liquid pool in his eyes. "I'm the last person who's going to hurt her, Lyra."

He can't tell why, but something makes her relent. "Fine. But I'm not leaving you two alone-"

Edward opens his mouth to protest, or maybe just cuss her out and shove her out of his way, but she hastily finishes her statement before he can do either.

"For more than a few minutes."

His upper lip curls, clearly pissed, but at least he won't have to hit her. "Fine," he echoes flatly.

She gives him a sideways glare as she leaves the room, forcefully reminding him of the fact that he **does not trust her** at all. But he shakes it off; he's here to see Rose. He doesn't want to let his anger linger.

Rose is sitting down on her bed, gazing out the window with empty eyes. He pauses slightly at the door but decides to let himself in.

"Hey," he says simply, to see if she reacts at all.

It takes a moment, but his voice registers somewhere in her head and she swivels around to face him, the smallest of smiles toying at her lips after staring at the blonde boy in her room. Rose pats the bed, motioning for him to come sit.

Edward accepts her invitation and plants himself beside her. He doesn't really know how to conduct a conversation with a mute, but he'll be damned if he gives up before he even tries.

"How've you been?" he asks.

Her eyes tighten at the question and she looks down.

"Sorry, I guess that's a stupid question," he mutters, rubbing his neck nervously. Of course, give him ten seconds to talk and he'd shove his metal foot in his mouth. Ed groans.

They sit in silence for a long beat before Rose casts her gaze meaningfully over at her son sleeping in the crib across the room.

He understands what she means - or at least, he thinks he does. "You really love your kid a lot, don't you?"

Rose looks up at him and smiles; a real, genuine smile, though her eyes are lined with tears. She puts a hand on his automail shoulder and gives him a meaningful look.

It takes him a moment to realize what she's trying to say, but eventually he gets it. "You love him as much as I love Al," he states, and she nods. "You'd do anything for him." Rose smiles, though it's just a small one. He gives her a sad look in response. "You must be really strong, to go through all this and keep your kid, after… after what happened…"

He knows almost immediately that he said the wrong thing because her eyes are suddenly distant yet focused and she's tensing up, her hands coming up to her face to cover her eyes, her shoulders hunching inwards in a sort of self-preservation pose. Edward guesses that she's having a flashback and, flustered and helpless, he scrambles for a way to make it stop.

"Rose! _Rose_! It's okay! Stop! It's over!" he yells, shaking her shoulders. Reluctantly her hands drop, revealing tears rolling down her dark face, her violet irises almost glowing in contrast to the shade of red that the white of her eyes have turned. Rose launches herself into him, her arms tight around his torso. Edward can already feel his shirt getting soaked, but he says nothing. Gingerly he pats her back, unsure of how to do this. Eventually he realizes that he should probably hug her back; he lets his arms fall around her, being careful with his right so he doesn't hurt her. "I'm sorry," he mumbles.

He doesn't know how long they sit there; he may or may not press a gentle kiss to the top of her oddly-colored hair. But all too soon Lyra is back, something resembling a glare on her sharp face. She demands that Edward leave; Rose clings to him, not wanting him to go.

And he decides he won't. He doesn't give a damn about Lyra; he's not leaving her. Not tonight. Not ever.

Not while she still needs him.


End file.
